The collection of the Zheleznodorozhny Local Lore Museum presents a reticule — an indispensable attribute of any lady in the late 19th century.

A reticule is a small women’s handbag with a thin strap or chain. It received the name “reticule” from the Latin word reticulum — “net”, due to the fact that when they first appeared, they were made of netting. Later, they began to be mockingly called “reticules, ” which was derived from the French word “ridicule” meaning “funny.”

By the beginning of the 19th century, women’s clothes had changed a lot. Fluffy dresses with pockets were replaced with fitted silhouettes, which had no room for pockets, and a reticule became an indispensable accessory: a lady could put whatever she wanted in it. The reticule opens with a round metal plate with a green insert imitating a natural stone and closes with a metal clasp (a fermoire in the parlance of jewelers).

The handbag from the museum’s collection has a large clasp adorned with a malachite-colored insert, which is a decoration in itself. Such an unusual element could become, for example, a brooch or the head of a ring. The clasp has special holes on the inside for attaching the bottom of the bag. This was reliable and pragmatic: the fabric base could tear or wear thin, and in that case, a new one could be attached to the metal clasp. The handle of the bag, woven from threads, forms a thick cord, decorated with elegant tassels at the base. The satin pink lining goes beautifully with black: the two colors enhance each other and together create a wonderfully emotional combination.

Being a common and fashionable item of women’s clothing, the reticule is also reflected in fiction. As Leo Tolstoy mentions in his novel “War and Peace”, Marya Dmitrievna, Natasha Rostova’s godmother (her character was based on a well-known and respected eccentric Moscow lady), naturally, could not do without such a fashionable accessory, “She took out of her huge reticule some amber earrings with drops, and giving them to Natasha, whose beaming birthday face flushed rosy red, she turned away immediately and addressed Pierre.”